Beyond the Farplanes
by Shadow Faery
Summary: There's more to the farplanes than meets the eye. Investigating a disturbance in the farplanes, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine find out more than just pyreflies reside there.
1. Hidden horrors

Chapter 1

"Yunie, come on already!" called a cheerful blond, braids bouncing as she shifted from one foot to another impatiently. A guado gave the group a strange look, waiting by the entrance to the farplanes. The three of them were a strange group. The guard wondered why in the world did the guado ask them in particular for help in the first place.

"I knew we shouldn't have let her have that much sugar for breakfast, a girl dressed in black commented dryly. She looked bored, wondering how the Al Bhed girl could have so much energy. It just wasn't normal.

"Come on Paine," the brunette laughed, following her overeager cousin. "Hurry before Rikku gets too far. Let's just take a quick look around…."

"Quick look and get this over with," Paine finished for her, sighing. She knew she should have just slept in late today, but no, Yuna just had to accept a plea for help when a call came in asking them to check out some disturbances in the farplanes. Did that girl even know how to say no? She'd thought she'd rather spend the day with Tidus like she'd done every day since he returned. Apparently, Yuna just couldn't refuse a cry for help. Sighing, she followed the other two to the gate.

The guard raised an eyebrow, sensing her reluctance. "You three be careful," he warned, stepping aside to open the gate. "People have gone missing while in there. We're hoping you three can find out why."

"Don't worry," Yuna assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The Gullwings are on it!" Giving a confident smile, the group stepped in, immediately surrounded by a swarm of pyreflies.

Catching on in her hands, Rikku looked at it for a moment before letting it go. "Anyone think they're acting a little strange?" she asked, waving a hand in her face as she tried to brush them away to no avail.

"Well, nothing looks wrong here," Paine said with a bored sigh, rolling her eyes as she swatted away one offending pest. "Can we move on already?" Catching pyreflies was a waste of time, and she had better things to do.

Nodding, the group continued on the transparent path, following a trail of pyreflies as they drifted down the path. It was dreadfully quiet save for the soft rumbling of the waterfall flowing under their feet. The three of them looked as if they were walking on air, an entire world under them.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Rikku asked, gazing at the farplane fields below.

"Just keep your eyes open," Yuna asked, a little distracted. Something floated among the vastness of the farplanes. Soft singing that grew steadily louder as if drawing closer. She rubbed her eyes as something moved in the distance. At first, she excused it for a pyrefly playing tricks on her vision, but it was something else.

__

Ring around a rosie

Pocket full of posies

Ashes

Ashes

We all fall down!

As the apparition approached, the Gullwings stopped, looking at the translucent figure in confusion. A young girl about four years old skipped toward them, long dark brown hair pulled into two braids and a basket of flowers on her arm. Dancing around the group and dropping flowers on the ground, she giggled, the sound like a faint tinkling of raindrops tapping against glass.

Staring at the little spirit, Rikku backed up, staying close to her companions as she whispered, "Paine? Yunie? Do you see her too?" Yuna just nodded, not saying anything for a moment. This wasn't normal.

Bending down as she held a hand out to the child, she said softly as she tried to keep her voice from wavering, "Hello there, I'm Yuna. What's you're name?" The girl stopped, cocking her head to the side.

"I don't know. But I know your names," she said sweetly, handing her what looked like a rose. As soon as Yuna took it, it shriveled and dried up. She gasped and dropped it the ground. The girl ignored it as she pointed to each of them. "You're Yuna, you're Rikku, and you're Paine!" she announced happily. Giggling again, she said, "Paine! That's a funny name. It's the same as what is coming for all of you!"

A chill ran up her spine as Yuna stood back up, glancing at the others. What did that mean? Who was the girl? Singing again, the little child began her song again.

__

Ring around a rosie

Pocket full of posies

Ashes

Ashes-

Looking at them with wide eyes and a happy little smile, she whispered the last line. "And we all fall down." She disappeared in a flash, and immediately, the floor dropped away.

Rikku screamed as Yuna gasped in surprised horror, Paine reaching for her sword. As the ground drew closer, the three of them braced themselves for impact. Instead, they passed right through the ground, falling into another level of the farplanes. It seemed as if the pyreflies were celebrating, twirling around them before vanishing as the three were engulfed in darkness.

Thunder sounded and lighting flashed in the dark sky as their decent finally ended, all of them slamming into the ground. Then it was silent except for the storm above them, their bodies still in the frigid temperatures that accompanied the strange fog rolling along the ground.

Yuna was first to move, groaning as her hand reached out to push herself off the ground. The little girl was right, pain was coming, and it seemed to have found them. She could hardly see through the thick mist, feeling the ground for her companions. Finally, her fingers found something hard and rough. Without thinking, she grabbed for it and brought it closer to examine it. She found herself face to face with the grotesque grin of a skull, the gaping eyeholes staring into her own orbs and strands of blue Guado hair clinging to the bare scalp.

Paine came to her senses as a bloodcurdling scream was heard, grabbing for her blade that had landed next to her. "Yuna! Rikku!" she called, waving a hand through the air as she tried to clear the fog. "Where are you!"

Ignoring the crunch of what she swore sounded like bones, she ran blindly toward the cries until her foot hit something soft. She bent down immediately, finding the unconscious figure of Rikku. Her hand dived into her pocket for the stash of items she kept for emergencies, giving the younger girl a phoenix feather. It didn't take long before it took effect, a soft moan escaping her lips. Grabbing her shoulders, Paine shook her roughly.

"Get up already," she commanded. "Yuna's in trouble." That snapped Rikku out of it immediately, sitting straight up. "Yunie?" she asked, wide eyed in fear. "Where?" Instead of answering, Paine grabbed her wrist, pulling her to her feet before dragging her toward the sound once more.

The screams quieted to terrified sobs, and the two of them managed to follow it to their friend, kneeling as she cried into her hands. "The ones that disappeared," Yuna made out between cries. "I think they're dead!" She gestured around them as the fog lifted off the ground just for a moment, revealing a graveyard of bodies in various stages of decomposition littering the ground. Most of the grinning skeletons were adorned with tattered remains of Guado robes.

Rikku gave a little shriek, covering her mouth, and Paine looked away for a moment. Too many bodies. How could there be so many? "The question is, what killed them," she said bluntly, going straight for the point.

"I know who did it!" came a familiar sweet little voice. The three turned to find the little girl, smiling innocently behind them as she clutched her basket. "Did you like my song?" she asked, humming it.

"You!" shouted Paine, lunging for her. It was as if she hit an invisible wall, falling the ground again. The little girl just frowned.

"That's not very nice," she scolded with a pout. "You need to learn some manners."

"What killed them?" Paine demanded more than asked, pointing to the dead on the ground. "What did you have to do with them?"

"I didn't do it," she said, looking solemn before a grin broke out on her face. "But I did help!" Her features disappeared as her face became blank, like a piece of flesh colored rubber stretched across it. Only thing that remained was the wide grin, looking much more menacing on the deformed girl.

"What are you?" Rikku trembled, backing up a bit. She grabbed onto Yuna's arm for comfort, her hand reaching for her knives. She needed the comfort of a weapon in her hand.

"Me?" the thing spoke, the voice no longer a little girl's. It echoed and seemed to be a mixture of a hundred sounds a once, making Rikku cringe once more. "You seem scared," it said. The Al Bhed nodded, trembling a little. It didn't help when the monster held out a hand, a large knife appearing in her hand.

"You should stop worrying," it told, pointing the blade at the terrified girl. Yuna wrapped her arms around her protectively as Paine stood in front of them, though by now, she was looking a little pale as well.

"Don't worry about me," the thing repeated once more, grinning madly again. Pointing the knife at the sky, a portal of swirling dark gray clouds appeared at its tip, widening. Something was coming through, a fierce growl emanating from the hole, causing skin on Rikku's arm to prickle. She was sure she didn't want to find out what made the sound. "Worry about him."

Author's notes: Okay, first FFX-2 fic. Actually, this is only the second fic I've ever written in my life. I know it's a little rough, but I plan to be more descriptive in the second chapter. I was a little preoccupied when I was writing it, but I continued anyways cuz I had to get the idea out of my head. Thanks to my friend known as Eki (erm, don't ask) for the idea about the little girl. Actually, the idea came from something happening in an FFX-2 rpg I'm in….well, anyways, hope it's decent. Not sure if I should be sticking with first person perspective writing considering my other story Wilted Rose, so someone please tell me if third person perspective really isn't my thing. Thanks!


	2. Disappearing Act

Chapter 2

The wind seemed to pick up, howling from every direction as a shadow spewed out of the portal, the growls approaching. Spiraling through the air, the shadows collected, forming a mass in the air. The faceless girl just giggled, watching it with nonexistent eyes as her mouth stretched out in a grotesque grin.

"I have a little surprise for you all," she said, a high pitch giggle echoing into the distance. "Kiwi just wants to play too!" Yuna gave a look of confusion and held on to her cousin clinging to her as Paine tensed up, ready to move at a moment's notice. They didn't know what to expect, but she wasn't about to back down.

The shadow mass grew, an amorphous blob that seemed to pulse with life, swirling around the small girl and lifting her into the air where she sat upon it, kicking her legs happily. Slowly, it began to solidify, the smoke clearing. A strangle roar sounded, hundreds of sounds melded together in a deafening cry. As the figure came into view, it revealed what looked like a giant creature haphazardly sewn together of stuffed animal parts, the mangled corpses making up it's entire body save for two glowing yellow eyes.

"What the hell is that!?" Paine yelled, her grip tightening on her sword to protect her two friends. Raising it to strike, her attack was interrupted as the thing swiped at her with a patchwork paw, sending her flying. She landed with a thud, not moving.

"Oops, Kiwi needs to learn how to play nice," the little girl scolded then giggled madly. Her face had returned as the…doll creature was summoned, though her eyes still held a maniacal glint in them, the eyeballs swiveling in different directions like a creepy doll.

Rikku was up to her feet, trying to rush toward her fallen companion as she called, "Paine! Please be alive!" Before she got to far, Kiwi lashed out with a clawed hand that looked to have belonged to a porcelain doll, the delicately molded fingers cracked as they reached for her, wrapping around her body. The girl screamed as she was lifted off the ground, the grip of the hand tightening. Flakes of what looked like paint fell away from the limb, though they weren't flesh colored. They were red as the blood that trickled down her body where the hand touched.

Struggling as she slashed out with long knives, she screamed as she was brought in front of what could have been the monster's face, golden eyes staring into her own green eyes as it began singing a strange song. In a moment, her thrashing stopped as she calmed, entranced by the haunting music.

"See?" the little girl said, clapping her hands as she jumped up and down. "All he wants to do is play!" As if to respond, deformed stuffed animals peeled away from the main body as they edged along the arm, looking ravenous as they reached toward her.

"Rikku! Paine!" Yuna called, mustering up bravery and strength at the sight of her friends in trouble. Pulling out her guns, she began shooting into the monster, letting loose a fury of bullets as bits of stuffing flew into the air. The little girl looked irritated, holding up a hand and flicking her wrist. Tendrils of shadows wrapped itself around the gunner, holding her arms out to the side as she dropped her weapons. The shooting immediately stopped as the guns clattered to the floor.

"Didn't I tell you to play nicely?" the girl scolded, jumping off Kiwi and coming up to her as she shook a finger in her face. Yuna cringed, chancing a glance toward the monster. The bullets seemed to have barely fazed it, though Kiwi did look irritated. Stuffed animals that had been hit fell away, littering the ground with headless dolls and bears riddled with holds. A stuffed dog missing a leg limped up, sinking its teeth into her ankle as revenge before falling down lifeless. Yuna screamed, sharp teeth that shouldn't have been there tearing away into her skin, the pain causing her leg to buckle, but the shadows around her arm held her up.

"What's wrong with you?" she hissed between clenched teeth, tears of fear, anger, and worry streaming down her cheek. The girl looked amused, laughing the horrible sound again, like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard.

"Nothing! You're the ones who won't play with me," she said, skipping around her prisoner happily. "But now that I have you, I can play with you forever and ever!" Ghostly laughter from beyond joined the girl's, filling the air. Even Kiwi stopped its song for a moment, joining her, but as soon as Rikku twitched, it went back to its hypnosis.

Yuna whimpered, pulling at her restraints. Paine, Rikku, she had to see if they were fine, but the more she struggled, the tighter the coils became, biting into her arm. The little girl paused her dancing to stop in front of her, cocking her head to the side as she looked at her. "I want to show you a magic trick!" she decided, eyes whirling around in happiness as she grinned. "Look very closely!" she commanded, pointing up to Kiwi.

Catching its mistress's order, the monster ended the song, though its gaze remained steady. As Yuna watched in horror, a mouth opened, widening. Inside, more stuffed animals clamored for freedom as others held them down, hungry for more to join them. Before she could cry out, Rikku was lowered into it, still in the hypnotic daze. Thousands of paws and hands eagerly latched onto her, drawing her deeper into the monster's throat. As soon as she disappeared, Kiwi swirled again, shadows seeping through the billions of seams before sinking into the ground in a dark portal.

"Rikku! No!" the brunette cried, frantically thrashing harder than ever. The little girl just smiled, putting a hand with an abnormally strong grip on her shoulder to still her.

"Like magic!" she said happily. "One, two, three, poof! There goes number one! Time for number two!" Yuna strained to see Paine, the normally strong warrior frighteningly still. She didn't want to lose another friend. Something sparked underneath her as flames appeared, blue black flames instead of normal red ones, flickering around the unconscious girl.

It was horrible to see her friend lie there, oblivious to the dark fire that burned around her. Even more horrible was as it began to devour her, bit by bit. As her pale skin began to redden, Paine stirred, on the verge of consciousness before the pain seeped through the numbness of her slumber. Crying out in pain, she writhed, trying to put it out. The more she moved, the more her skin blackened, flaking away to reveal cooking muscles and burnt bones.

"Paine! No!" cried Yuna, watching as she screamed. The yells died out as the flames erupted around her. When it cleared, ashes blew along the ground before they were devoured by the fog. Yuna sagged within the holds around her arms, sobbing bitter tears. Dead. They were both dead.

Coming up to her again, the little girl lifted her chin with a finger, looking at her for a moment. Her eyes had stopped revolving, almost looking sincere and innocent, though Yuna knew of the seed of darkness in them.

"One, two, three, poof! No more!" she said happily, waving her hand around as if she was a magician. "They're not gone," she assured her, sounding sympathetic enough that Yuna almost believed her. "Just playing hide and seek. You get to play a game to!" At those words, she didn't exactly feel comforted, only panicked.

"What did you do with them?" she yelled, though without her friends, she didn't have the strength to thrash. "Where are they?"

The girl frowned, stepping back to examine the captive. "Stop thinking of them! You're supposed to play with me!" she demanded. "Besides, the others wouldn't let me keep all of you. They said I had to share."

_Others? _Yuna thought. Who were the others? Before she could ask, she was distracted as the girl waved her hand, more shadow ropes shooting out of the air and waving around, awaiting tentacles of darkness. The girl pouted for a moment before cheering up again.

"Oh wait, I never got to finish my magic trick!" she remembered, spinning for a moment. "That was one and number two! One, two, three! You're number three!" As soon as she said that, the shadow ropes lunged forward, twining around Yuna. She tried to scream, but one thick tendril wrapped itself around her mouth, gagging her. They were dragging her down, down into a dark portal.

The swirls in it felt cool, slick, slimy. Where it touched her bare skin, it leeched on, sucking on it and refusing to let go as it coated her. It was up to her waist now. To her chest. To her neck. She wondered how long she could hold her breath before she drowned in it.

Her strangled cries and sobs seemed to be sucked into the substance around her as her head began to go under. She managed one last breath before it covered her eyes, blinding her. The liquid was in her ears, making her deaf, and the shadows around her hadn't released their hold. She couldn't move, helpless.

"_Just relax," _a voice crooned in her mind. _"You're just coming to play with me." _No. She didn't want to die. She'd been practicing. She could hold her breath for a long time.

The voice in her head began to sing a lullaby, but she tried to ignore it. Time ticked by, her lungs beginning to burn. Her mind raced, going insane from the sensory deprivation. She yearned for anything to distract her, trying to think of any other song in her head.

"_Stop it!"_ she thought, half way through _1000 words _before giving up in frustration . _"Leave me alone!" _There was a little humph sound of disappointment, but the singing stopped. Was the girl going to free her? Maybe she was tired of her by now? No luck. Instead, the ropes around her chest tightened, making her lose her hold and gasp for breath. Instantly the dark liquid flooded into her mouth and nose. She thought she'd go crazy from it, trying not to swallow as the bitter substance forced its way down her throat. Instead, it numbed her mind, clouding her thoughts.

_No I won't surrender,_ Yuna thought, though it was hopeless. Was this how it was like to die? Actually, it wasn't too bad. It made her want to sleep, to be rid of the pain. She wouldn't have to think of her friends anymore.

A whimper tried to force its way out as she pushed the thought away. She couldn't succumb to it. She had to find her friends. But the more she struggled, the weaker she felt. It was futile. Slowly, she began to slip away, picturing everyone close to her in her mind. Paine, Rikku, Tidus, her other former guardians, other Spirans…The last thing she heard in her mind was the little girl again. _One, two, three, poof! No more! Then there was none._

****

Author's notes:

Okay, yeah, my next update might be a while, but just saying now that YRP's not dead! No matter how it starts sounding like it, things aren't always what they seem! Erm, I'm really not sure how this is turning out. I'm just writing whatever comes to mind. Hm…I feel it's necessary to answer some reviews as well, so here I go…

October Breeze- Yay! Glad you like this story as well! I actually did know what the song meant, but my friend didn't when she thought of it, hehe. And actually, I think you say "Bless you" because people believed demons or something can possess you after you sneeze and the words are supposed to block that or something about that. ::shrugs::

Jenny-::gasp:: go you! Same name as me! Well, hope I didn't give you nightmares or anything! Otherwise I'd start feeling bad…

Darkitty- Glad you like it! Trying to update as often as I can.

Amandinka- ::fwaps her:: You forgot to take your medication again! Read your stories, and they're great! ::gasp:: You can write too! Only about Harry Potter, but still! We need to find you a cure for your Harry Potter obsession, but until then, I guess I can consider trying to start an HP fanfic, okie? Oh, and you DON'T rock! Lol, spellcheck tried to correct your name and suggested "Mandingo." What's a Mandingo?

Well, yeah, hope this one meets expectations and all! It feels so much different writing this one compared to my other story, but I'm trying! Okie dokie, hope ya'all stick around!

p.s. Amandinka sucks! J/k :P


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